As I said I like London but one city I really liked and which really surprised me was Glasgow, what a wonderful city that is.
I used to love living in a city but since I moved to Wollongong where a traffic jam is more than two cars waiting at a traffic light I have to say I wouldn’t want to live in a big city again but I love visiting.
The only exception would be Canberra which is more like a country town but with all the advantages of a city. The only reason I don’t move there is the climate - it is awful, too hot in summer, freezing in winter
Yes! I’ve been up there lots of times, a shame it closed, it was exciting. Back in the 70s they let us do a sponsored stair climb to the top, it’s a long way up! I can remember it being open at the top, a bit different to how very sealed in the London Eye and the Shard are now
And the Monument is worth going up too, but only stairs, no lift! I suppose it’s dwarfed now by all taller things but it’s still a good view.
It’s open at the top, with just wire mesh to keep you in! It was one of dads favourite places to take us when we were kids
Fair challenge and I should have been more clear. There are certain things that seem to bring some to declaim without substance. You are right again that politics raises this problem and it seems London does too. So you get posts that are no more than “I can’t stand that London, I like my slice of xxxxx wherever”. No value in that contribution at all. However had that person also provided a “why London is not for me” and ideally “why this one city as opposed to all the other cities” is not for them then we get insight.
So, yes people can disagree. That forms a conversation. But only if the post actually progresses the conversation.
PS people standing on the walking side of the escalator are not to be tolerated (that’s my mindset formed from many years in London)
Strathmore … Now tell me, did you smile at other passengers on the tube train? Or wouldn’t your mindset allow you to do that either?!!
My daughter said when she first went to live in London she would smile at everyone but no one smiled back. It seems smiling isn’t the done thing!!
After a few years it becomes clear that no-one acknowledges anyone else on London public transport. No smiles, no good morning, no thank you to the bus driver. It is what it is - its not people being rude it is just busy, daily activity that does not require interaction with others.
But to be clear, I preferred the attitude in other places where it is normal to greet others.
Hi Arty, We went on the London Eye back in 2004. The trip to London and a go on the London Eye was a surprise birthday present for Mrs Fox. I’d better not say anything negative about London or else I’ll have d00d, Strathmore and Maree on my case…
We nearly didn’t go because I had my first heart attack on the Sunday before we were due to go on Monday week. I spent five days in hospital and decided ‘what the hell’ and went anyway.
It was brilliant! The weather was fantastic and we walked everywhere. We stayed three nights at the Tower Thistle hotel and did the Thames boat trip to Greenwich, the London Eye and the science museum (Mrs Fox insisted we went there )
I always feel like I’ve gone back in time and am in the company of some very famous people when I visit London. History oozes out of every building and I recognise so many things and places that I’ve only ever read about previously.
Yes I am more at home in Yorkshires wild places, but I love visiting London, such a contrast to life as I know it.
The smiley guy bidding a good morning to everyone on the left side of the escalator will be me Strathmore…
I worked there for a number of years and loved the views.
The two people working in the tower the night the bomb went off started down the stairs after the explosion but had only descended a couple of floors when they decided staying in the building was probably the safer option. I was in the next morning.
The bomb was in one of the toilets and a piece of concrete penetrated the top of one of the horn aerials immediately below which then promptly filled up with water from the damaged toilet.
What a picture, many thanks Bruce, I bet you could tell some stories!
You may or may not remember looking down and seeing a school playground on the roof of a building close by, you could just make out the manky white porcelain drinking fountain as I remember.
That was my old primary school, All Souls in Foley Street.
A piece of debris just missed killing one of the kids who lived near by, it smashed through the roof and missed her bed by a matter of feet while she was sleeping.
Glad you enjoyed that London. It has some great places. And as for smiling and saying hello to everyone that’s very much my life as well now (unless I’m visiting London or Paris)
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